In the United States, second-hand home sales in August have decreased, while housing inventory has slightly improved.

According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the sales of existing homes in the United States in August decreased by 2.5% compared to July, with an annualized sales rate of 3.86 million units after seasonal adjustment. This data is slightly lower than analysts' expectations, and sales volume decreased by 4.2% compared to August 2023. This is also the third consecutive month that the annualized sales rate has been below 4 million units. This statistic is based on completed transactions, contracts that are typically signed at the end of June and beginning of July, when mortgage rates began to decline but had not yet reached current levels. According to Mortgage News Daily, by mid-June, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was slightly above 7%, but steadily dropped to 6.7% by the end of July. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors, said, "August home sales were disappointing again, but the recent decline in mortgage rates and increase in inventory is a strong combination that provides a good environment for sales growth in the coming months. The process of buying a house usually takes a few months from starting to look for a house to getting the keys." Housing inventory has slightly improved. As of the end of August, there were a total of 1.35 million homes for sale in the market, an increase of 0.7% from July, and a 22.7% increase from the same period last year. However, the supply is still only 4.2 months, while the balanced state between buyers and sellers is typically a 6-month supply. Yun added, "The increase in inventory - especially the subsequent increase in monthly supply - indicates that buyers now have better conditions to find the right home and purchase at more favorable prices. However, in areas where supply remains tight, such as many markets in the northeast, sellers still hold the upper hand." Tight supply continues to put pressure on housing prices. The median price of existing homes sold in August was $416,700, a 3.1% increase from the same period in 2023, the highest August price ever recorded. As this is the median price, some of the growth is due to an increase in sales of high-priced homes in August. Sales of homes priced over $750,000 saw a significant increase, while sales of homes priced below $500,000 decreased. First-time buyers accounted for only 26% of sales in August, the same as the historic low set in November 2021. All-cash transactions accounted for 26% of sales, slightly lower than last year but still at a historically high level. Mortgage rates continued to drop in August and September, with the current 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.15%, the lowest level in nearly two years.